Wii 2 Essentially Confirmed

News is pouring in right and left that Nintendo is working on its successor to the Wii. Everything from specs to release date have been speculated, and here I wrapped up all the news I could find into one thread.

The following information comes from Game Informer...
- new system is capable of running games at HD resolutions
- system may either fall short of or surpass 360/PS3 in graphics, but it will be competitive
- Nintendo is already showing publishers the system
- late 2012 launch
- no word on backwards compatibility
- no word on 'Wii' being in the name
- when Nintendo was approached with this information, they were told that Nintendo won't comment on their E3 plans, but "stay tuned"
"Nintendo is doing this one right. [It's] not a gimmick like the Wii." - anonymous source
We're also hearing the same sort of information from another source. The only major difference between the two articles is discussion of another new controller.

The following information comes from inside sources at IGN...
- console is significantly more powerful than the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
- Nintendo is looking to recapture the hardcore market
- 1080p resolutions
- Nintendo will release a pre-announcement this month
- full reveal expected at E3
- backwards compatible with current Wii software
Well there's a really interesting bit of information. If the system is backwards compatible with Wii games, that either means you can use a Wiimote/Nunchuk on the new system, or the new system's control scheme will be able to mirror that of Wii.

Honestly, I think it's too early to tell. E3 is hyping about it as well, and stated on the Twitter that we may see Wii 2 at E3.


IGN article: http://wii.ign.com/articles/116/1161875p1.html